The profitable nature of solar power in Spain has given rise to strange installation locations, such as this plant which towers over a cemetary. (Source: AP)

Spain has found a controversial way to boost solar adoption

When it comes to solar power, the real dilemmas are efficiency and cost. On the one hand, efficiency has steadily improved over the last couple decades to the point where it’s approaching the utility prices of other power generation methods. Exotic technologies promise even greater gains. However, the price of solar-generated power still remains at least five times as expensive as coal-power, the chief source of power in the U.S. (compared to the leading candidate, nuclear, which is approximately 1.5 to 2 times as expensive).

While solar adoption from a cost standpoint is unattractive, there's much debate over whether commercial adoption is needed to spur further research to propel solar into the realm of cost competitiveness. While many nations like the U.S. and China have modestly taken this position, adopting solar at a moderate rate, one nation has fallen head over heels for solar -- Spain.

Spain is allowing solar and wind power plants to charge as much as 10 times the rates of coal power plants, making it possible for solar power installations to earn utilities big money. On average, recent rate increases have raised solar charges to over 7 times the rates of coal or natural gas rates. The costs are added onto consumers' power bills.

The results are mixed; while Spanish power bills are at record highs, the number of deployments is soaring. Spain has 14 GW of solar power, or the equivalent capacity of nine average nuclear reactors, under construction -- the most of any nation. Florida’s FPL Group Inc. and French Electricite de France SA are among the many jumping to build in Spain.

Gabriel Calzada, an economist and professor at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, states, "Who wouldn’t want to enter a business that’s paid many times more than the market rate, and where the customer is guaranteed for life?"

By 2009, 42 percent of Spaniards energy bills -- approximately 95 euros ($127) on average -- will be provided by alternative energy. Spanish law requires power distributors to buy all clean energy produced in the first 25 years of the plants' lives. The government also recently raised the rate of Spain believes this sacrifice will pay off as fossil fuel resources become depleted and emissions standards tighten.

Karsten von Blumenthal, an industrial analyst at Hamburg-based SES Research GmbH states, "The guarantee is more attractive than what other countries offer. Actually the U.S. has better space for solar, in the deserts of California and Nevada."

The U.S. meanwhile is also advancing thanks in part to President Obama's solar initiatives passed earlier this year as part of the federal stimulus legislation. Over 6 GW of capacity is planned for the U.S.

Fred Morse, an official at the Washington- based Solar Energy Industries Association trade group and author of the first report to the White House on solar power (1969), says that the U.S. needs to adopt more incentives if it hopes to catch Spain. He states, "The incentives, if implemented promptly and effectively, should greatly facilitate the financing of these plants."

One promising benefit of the Spanish solar boom is that it is increasing the number of plants utilizing new, potentially more efficient technologies like solar thermal or sterling engines. Spain is limiting the number of photovoltaic plants (solar panel-based designs), but is giving out unlimited licenses for solar thermal and other alternative plants.

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Now I would agree that one should realize that the Euro has replaced some (but apparently not all) the currencies of countries part of the European Union (only 16/27 member states are part of the Monetary Union) and should look up spanish currency with a quick search.

However, given that the state of the "European Union" is very confusing and changing landscape (Apparently there are 7 different classifications of EU membership and apparently 4 in regards to the use of the Euro)

And the clear similarities between the symbols in English for Lira and Euro with the odd placement of the Euro symbol (In American English) of the original poster. The guess of Lira is actually pretty good! Its not like he guess pounds, or kronar (Still used in Denmark which could switch the Euro or could not and used in Norway which can't switch to use the Euro. Not that the Danish and Norway Kronar are the same, just spelled the same in English)

The symbol for the Lira doesn't look any more like that for the euro than a L looks like an C. Do you often confuse those as well? All of which ignores the fact that anyone even remotely familiar with Europe would know that Spain uses the euro as its currency and before that it was the peseta. The original poster did say that he was from Spain. And as he should have known, the only European country that used the Lira was Italy and the Vatican, and 30 Italian Lira were worth only a couple of cents US. Or maybe the guy thought Spain used the Turkish Lira?